A sermon
preached at Kowloon Union Church on Sunday 18 March 2018 by the Rev. Ewing W. [Bud] Carroll, Jr. The
scripture readings that day were Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 5:5-10; John 12:20-33.
The prophet Jeremiah lived
some 500+ years before Christ. I don’t know of any popularity polls during that
time. If there were, his ratings would probably
have been very close to zero. But he
did have one very strong supporter; and fortunately it was the only one who
really counted – YHWH, God.
Jeremiah is often called the
“The Weeping Prophet”. The tears he shed were not from the death of
a parent or other family member; nor the end of a special relationship. Rather, because the Jewish people continued
to disobey God. Both the Southern and
Northern Kingdoms had suffered defeat from invading armies. Much of Jerusalem’s so-called finest –
probably the most professionally
skilled, financially wealthy and politically powerful had been exiled to
Babylonia.
Fortunately, today’s lesson from
Jeremiah paints a picture of happier and more hopeful days ahead. No tears;
only sunshine and smiles. Why? God had
decided to forgive the Jewish people their Torah scroll length of sinful
disobedience and create a new covenant. There’s no reason to suggest Jeremiah
was thinking 500 years ahead to the birth of Jesus. No, Jeremiah was recording God’s choice not
to forget, but to forgive the sinful actions and
inactions of God’s so-called Chosen People.
Now, fast-forward to today’s
Gospel lesson. John tells us some Greeks
were eager to meet Jesus. They’d gone to Jerusalem to celebrate The Passover. They’d heard about this young miracle worker;
one who was himself 100% Jewish, but was publicly challenging so many Jewish
religious customs and practices. Probably out of curiosity, they asked Philip, himself
a Greek, to introduce them to Jesus. In
turn, Philip asked the Disciple Andrew to arrange a meeting.
Every language has words that
are spelled alike, but have different meanings.
Over the past two years Pastor Maggie has spent considerable time as a patient in Queen Elizabeth
Hospital. You might have to ask her
nurses if she were a patient patient or an impatient one! The verb “see” has many different
meanings: “Oh, I see” meaning to understand; “Let’s
go see a movie,” as to look; “See, she’s not coming after all”; like “I told you so!” According to
John’s account, it seems the Greeks wanted to MEET Jesus; they wanted to SEE
him at work; to know something about him.
Whatever their intention or
purpose – the Greeks got more than they asked for. Instead of some “show and tell” they could talk about following their return home,
Jesus gave them an eye-full; an ear-full; and a mind-full; that to “see” him
meant to learn a new way of living; not a return to the traditional thoughts
and actions of yesterday; but to a life of sacrifice
and service.
I think every language has special idioms
or expressions; usually only a few words to explain something. One example:
“I slept like a log last night.”
does that mean I’m a blockhead? No. Basically I was so comfortable, I probably
didn’t move the entire night. The Chinese
language has hundreds of both spoken and written expressions; often only four
characters. One of my favorites is Frog In a Well [井低之蛙]. It describes a narrow minded person;
someone with very confining views; someone who is provincial; someone who
thinks they are always right and unwilling or unable make any changes.” I recall with considerable embarrassment my
own Frog in a Well attitude when I would assertively say, “I might not always be right, but I’m never wrong.”
For Jeremiah, the Jewish
people seemed pretty much like a Frog in a Well: very limited, if not narrow-minded
views about God and their own importance.
Especially limited understandings about God’s desire to forgive them. Meanwhile, the Greeks who asked to see Jesus,
also reflected a sense of narrowness; especially in terms of who Jesus was and
what his ministry on earth included.
But let’s not stop with just the
sinful and disobedient Jews and the curious Greeks. In this special Lenten Season, we are also invited
and challenged to widen our own thoughts, feelings and actions about our faith
in Christ. To say “Farewell to being a frog in any kind of narrow and restrictive well.”
Today’s lessons from Jeremiah and John offer us some possibilities:
1. Firstly,
New Life comes from Death. Vegetable
seeds, like a grain of wheat, left in a packet are just that – a packet of
seeds. It’s only when they are planted,
watered and nurtured that they become useful, “new life.” Remember, the Jewish
people were keen to have a Messiah who would bring them political and cultural
power; financial wealth and respect. If
anyone were to die, they hoped it would be their enemies from neighboring
nations.
When Jesus
met the curious Greeks, he turned all this upside down. He offered to them, as
he offers to you and me – the Cross,
not conquest; servant hood, not
royal powers. He invites and challenges us – to climb out of whatever narrow
wells keep us from walking closer to him – and to one another: death to any feelings of national, political,
religious, cultural or gender superiority; death to bitter tongues; death to
jealous thoughts; and death to closed minds, ears, hands and hearts. Paul’s words to the Philippians underscores this: “For
to me, living is Christ and dying is gain.”
2. Secondly, new life comes through taking
risks. Close to 60 years ago I was
a pastor to 356 mostly elderly people. An
old retired pastor warned me not to make any changes; don’t do anything
different. “Be careful, old dogs cannot
learn new tricks.”” Well, many of those old dogs taught me you can learn
new tricks – if you’re willing to take risks.
Through them I discovered these challenging and encouraging words from Alfred
North Whitehead, a famous British mathematician /philosopher: “It’s better to fail in moving ahead, than to
succeed in standing still.” Or as
someone has written “better an ‘oops’
than a ‘what if?” I’m convinced the
greatest risk in all of life is the risk
of not risking. Jimmy Carter, a former
peanut farmer, governor and American President shared these encouraging words
to people fearful to risk positive change: “Go
out on a limb, that’s where the fruit is.”
I shudder every time I see a
church bulletin listing the hymn “Take My
life and Let it Be”. No way! That’s
a “No pain, No gain, No risk” mind-set. It’s “Take My Life and Let it be Consecrated, Lord to Thee ”. That, is truly dying to a selfish “Frog in a
Well” lifestyle. Death. Risk. Both are partners in our Lenten
journey.
This anonymous and frequently
cited poem is a warning
and welcoming reminder about our fears to be risk-takers:
There was a very cautious man who
never laughed or played.
He never risked, he never tried, he
never sang or prayed.
And when he one day passed away his
insurance was denied.
For since he never really lived, they
claimed he never really died.“
The hymn ”Great Is Thy Faithfulness” is a KUC favorite. Written by Thomas Chisholm 2,500 years after
Jeremiah shared God’s desire to forgive a sinful and selfish Jewish people; and
2,000 years after the curious Greeks asked to “see” Jesus. The hymn beautifully
shows how God’s forgiveness offers new joys, new opportunities and new life to
any and all who seek them. But there’s
another Chisholm hymn, one of 1,200 he wrote, that’s seldom sung these
days. Entitled “Living for Jesus” the hymn mirrors a life after we have begun to bury whatever has kept us in our narrow,
comfortable and selfish ways:
Living for Jesus wherever I am, doing
each duty in His holy name;
willing to suffer affliction and
loss, deeming each trial a part of my Cross.
O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give
myself to thee;
for Thou in thy atonement, didst
give thyself for me.
I own no other Master, my heart
shall be thy throne;
my life I give, henceforth to live,
O Christ for Thee alone.
My sister and brother Frogs in a Well, Lent is a time to start climbing.
There’s new light and new life at the
top! As we sang earlier this morning, “No turning back. No turning back!”
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, March 18, 2018
